Fresh Garlic Versus Garlic in a Jar

I used to be a garlic in the jar kinda gal.  I always kept a jar in my fridge to pull out when a recipe called for garlic.  I love the smell of garlic sauteeing in a pan and the taste of anything with garlic in it so I use it often.  I just always assumed it was easier to use the garlic in a jar and probably tasted just as good.  That was until I tasted fresh garlic--wow!  What a difference it made in all my recipes!  I started to buy heads of garlic from time to time instead of the jar.  Unfortunately, I still didn't use it all that often because it was such a pain to peel and chop.  Somewhere along the line, in my Food Network fanatic days, I learned a few quick tricks to peel fresh garlic.  The first is one that almost everyone is familiar with--place an unpeeled clove of garlic on a cutting board, put a chef's knife on top of it and smack it with the heel of your hand.  The peel comes right off!  Of course, you still have to chop it, which I hate.

But did you know that you can put an unpeeled clove of garlic in a garlic press?  Squeeze the garlic out and the peel stays behind in the press.  So much easier and a big time saver.  Now I always keep fresh garlic on hand (plus a jar in the fridge for those days I'm feeling really lazy AND garlic salt and garlic powder in the spice cabinet--I told you I love garlic!).

Do you use fresh garlic or garlic in a jar?